Environmental artist to exhibit garden inspired by Mount Jiri at Chelsea Flower Show

Garden designer and environmental artist Hwang Ji-hae / Courtesy of Hwang Ji-hae

By Kwak Yeon-soo

After an 11-year absence, garden designer and environmental artist Hwang Ji-hae is returning to the Chelsea Flower Show with her entry entitled "Land of Healing: Korean Mountain Light."

In 2011, Hwang won the Best Artisan Award and the Gold Medal at Chelsea Flower Show with "Hae Woo So: Emptying Your Mind: Traditional Korean Toilet." The following year, she won the President Award and a Gold Medal for exhibiting "Quiet Time: DMZ Forbidden Garden."

Established in 1827, Chelsea Flower Show is one of the world's most prestigious horticultural events, hosted by Britain's Royal Horticultural Society.

"Chelsea takes a ridiculous amount of energy. Each time I competed in the show, I fought a lonely battle overcoming the language barrier, tight budget and cultural differences," she said during a recent interview with The Korea Times.

"But at the same time, exhibiting a garden at Chelsea was an opportunity to listen to my inner voice and develop a lot of bright ideas. Although I have stayed away from the show for years due to health reasons, I have always thought this is a place I want to be."

Garden designer Hwang Ji-hae's entry for 2023 Chelsea Flower Show entitled "Land of Healing: Korean Mountain Light" (The original title of her project is "A Letter from a Million Years Past") / Courtesy of Hwang Ji-hae

At Chelsea 2023, which will take place in London from May 23 to 27, Hwang is set to design a garden inspired by the landscape and ecosystem of Mount Jiri, the country's largest national park. As the show's theme for this year is "restorative power of gardens and gardening," Hwang is ready to share stories about endangered endemic plant species in Korea.

Mount Jiri is extremely rich in biodiversity and full of medicinal herbs. Hwang revealed that the original title of her newest project is "A Letter from a Million Years Past." Through her garden, the environmental artist aims to stress the importance of preserving plant biodiversity in the mountain ecosystem.

"Before we discuss aesthetics and art, I want people to connect with nature and explore ways to coexist with wildlife. What we can do for our next generation is to support rewilding efforts so that plants can return to their natural, uncultivated state without human intervention," she said.

Hwang explained that Mount Jiri, considered the holy mother spirit mountain of Korea, has unique structures. Gneiss formed and stretched horizontally, leading to the formation of thick soil layers and deep forests. The curved surface of Mount Jiri has created a habitat where a variety of plants can grow. Among 4,500 plant species in Korea, 1,856 of them grow on Mount Jiri.

Among these, some of the medicinal plants were threatened with extinction from overharvesting and environmental degradation, but are now thriving on Mount Jiri as a result of conservation and rewilding efforts. Hwang's garden will demonstrate the interdependent relationship between human beings and nature.

Garden designer Hwang Ji-hae won the Best Artisan Award and the Gold Medal at the 2011 Chelsea Flower Show with "Hae Woo So: Emptying Your Mind: Traditional Korean Toilet." / Courtesy of Hwang Ji-hae

Hwang's passion for plants was sown growing up in a rural village in Gokseong County, South Jeolla Province.

"My mother had a garden full of plants including large-flowered skullcap, balloon flower ("doraji" in Korean), lettuce and wild chrysanthemum. That was my earliest memory of plants and gardens," she recalled.

Even to this day, her mother's love and dedication are the biggest influence on her approach to garden design. As a child, she loved the smell of the earth, the aroma of wild raspberries from vines and the cabbage butterflies in the garden. Such experience opened her to a sense of beauty and appreciation of detail.

"All of my thoughts, beliefs and confidence come from my mother's love. A garden has endless stories. I can recreate tens of thousands of gardens based on my inspiration from Mount Jiri," she said.

Hwang said she never planned to become a garden designer. At college, she majored in fine art and has been working in the fields of sculpture, installation art and environmental art.

"One day I was taking a short nap after working on a mural. I woke up to the grass tickling my face, which turned out to be fall panicum and crabgrass. At that moment, I was fascinated with their color and texture and realized that there's nothing new under the sun. That's when I found the joy of discovering new plant species. From then on, I thought hard about ecological rehabilitation," she said.

Garden designer Hwang Ji-hae won the President Award and a Gold Medal for exhibiting "Quiet Time: DMZ Forbidden Garden" at the 2012 Chelsea Flower Show. Courtesy of Hwang Ji-hae

Hwang shared how the COVID-19 pandemic has given her time to think hard about sustainable environments and ecosystems impacted by climate change and other stressors. "I thought about my own safety and health. It may sound like a cliche, but it was a time to think more deeply about the environment we live in," she said.

After the 2023 show, some of the plant species from Hwang's garden will be donated to Maggie's Centers, where it will be appreciated by cancer patients.

Hwang also talked about ways to make a city more sustainable and green. "There are so many ways to make cities healthier. Smart farms, rooftop gardens and green walls are beneficial to the environment," she said.

"As long as we stay committed to conservation, we can think of ways of creating urban gardens in cities. But most of all, be grateful for the sun, wind and air around you. That's the start of the change-making journey," she said.